Page 87 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope
"What?"
"Listen."
Eluheed strained his ears but heard nothing. "I don't hear anything."
"Exactly. No dripping water, no settling sounds."
"That's a comforting thought," Eluheed muttered, continuing onward.
After the earthquake, the flooding, and the failure of essential systems on the island, it was good to know that the underground pyramid was structurally sound.
They opened the door on the first level and stepped out into the luxurious hallway.
"This way," Eluheed said. He'd been to Areana's domain before and knew his way around it, but everything looked different in the darkness.
The rich carpet muffled their footsteps, and their flashlights reflected off the cream-colored walls.
"In here." Eluheed opened the double doors to Areana's bedroom. "That's the bookcase," he said, finding it with his beam. "The pressure plate is under the third rose from the left in the carpet pattern, about thirty-three centimeters from the wall."
Tony crouched, studying the intricate floral design. "Found it." He pressed down, and there was a soft click.
"Now the books. Herodotus, Plato, Marcus Aurelius pulled out, then Ovid pushed in."
Eluheed found the correct spines and performed the sequence. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a click and a soft grinding sound. Part of the bookcase moved, but Eluheed had to push on it to open it all the way.
Beyond was darkness and the damp smell of earth.
They stepped through, and as Eluheed lifted his head to search for the surveillance cameras, he found them mounted at regular intervals along the concrete wall, connected with a wire that supplied their power. Cutting the cable would probably result in all the cameras in the tunnel going offline, which wasn't a good idea. They only needed to disable those that monitored the section up to the fork, and those leading to the submarine, if there were any in that section of the tunnel.
"Do you want to disable them now?" Tony studied them.
"Not yet. Let's find the submarine first. We don't want to leave evidence of sabotage if we are not going to escape this place. Eventually, it would be found."
"Right," Tony agreed.
The tunnel wasn't as wide as Eluheed had imagined, and a silly image popped into his head of Navuh riding a motorcycle back and forth between his mansion and the harem, his elaborate robes fanning out behind him like a knight's on horseback.
But that wasn't Navuh's style. The tunnel culminated in a wider area that was large enough for a compact vehicle to turn around. That wouldn't have been needed if Navuh were riding a motorcycle.
From where they stood, it sloped slightly downward, its walls carved from living rock and reinforced with concrete in some areas. The floor was all concrete. Their footsteps echoed as they made their way toward what Eluheed hoped was a fork. The slightly salty smell gave him hope that they would find it.
He didn't need to wait long. About twenty-five minutes into their walk, they found the fork in the tunnel, and this section was too narrow for a vehicle. Evidently, Navuh didn't plan to use one once he got to the fork.
They walked shoulder to shoulder through the narrow passage, and no more than ten minutes later the tunnel opened into a natural cave.
"Holy shit," Tony said. "It's real." His flashlight beam illuminated a wooden dock extending into black water and the vessel tied to it.
The submarine was sleek and modern. It resembled an elongated teardrop, maybe fifteen feet long, constructed from what looked like white composite material with a strip of dark glass running along its upper surface—a continuous canopy rather than portholes.
"That's a nice toy," Tony said, playing his flashlight over the smooth hull.
The craft sat partially submerged at a floating dock, its design indicating that it had been built for recreation or research rather than warfare. The transparent canopy would provide panoramic views underwater, and Eluheed could see four leather seats arranged in a row inside. The control panel looked more like a tablet than the console he'd expected.
It looked like a luxury sports car and was obviously a recent acquisition. Had Navuh replaced an older model with this one? Did he go off the island on his own without anyone knowing?
The craft bobbed gently in the black water, looking more like it belonged at a yacht club than hidden in a cave beneath a despot's island fortress.
"A rich guy's toy," Tony said. "I wonder how much a thing like this costs."
